CAIRO (Xinhua) --
Actors perform dragon dance at the Egyptian National Museum in Cairo, Egypt, on
Oct. 8, 2018. The Chinese Culture Day of Confucius Institute in Cairo University
was held for the first time at the Egyptian National Museum in the capital’s
Tahrir Square on Monday.
XINHUA PHOTO: WU HUIWO

Chinese Culture Day embraces ancient
Egyptian civilization at national museum

By Marwa Yahya CAIRO (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Culture Day of Confucius Institute in Cairo
University was held for the first time at the Egyptian National
Museum in the capital’s Tahrir Square on Monday.

Amid cheers and admiration, the audience from different
nationalities stood steady and focused on the shows by Chinese
and Egyptian students in the garden of the great ancient museum.

Nada Abdel Salam, a 19-year-old student at the department of
Chinese language in Cairo University, said the show this year is
very special as it was displayed among the Egyptian monuments.

“I feel touched to witness the shows of the Chinese culture day
surrounded by the ancient Egyptian historical treasures of
statutes, tombs and pieces of art,” Abdel Salam, who came with
tens of her peers, told Xinhua.

The shows included singing, dancing, Chinese Kungfu, Chinese
traditional musical instruments performance, while students and
teachers taught paper-cutting and Chinese caligraphy at the side
of the show.

CAIRO (Xinhua) --
A student (L, center) from Confucius Institute in Cairo
University performs at the Egyptian National Museum in
Cairo, Egypt, on Oct. 8, 2018. XINHUA PHOTO: WU
HUIWO

Esraa Mohamed, student in Confucius Institute, dazzled the
audience with her operatic voice by singing a popular Chinese
song “the Olive Tree.”

Mohamed said she spent two weeks practicing the song, noting the
Chinese songs are difficult but very interesting with meaningful
ideas.

She added culture and singing are “the easiest roads to
captivate the hearts of the people and bridge the culture
relations in general.”

Salsabeel Madgy, another student in her beautiful Chinese
costumes, received loud applauds while dancing with another
Chinese student.

“I came from Confucius Institute in the coastal city of
Alexandria to take part in the culture day in Cairo, and I feel
proud to dance here in the Egyptian museum among my old Egyptian
ancestors to show them the integration of people thorough art,”
Magdy said.

She pointed out that the event gathered students from across
Egypt and it was a great chance to make new friends from Egypt
and China at the same time.

Established in 2007, the Confucius Institute in Cairo University
was the first Confucius Institute in Egypt as well as the North
African countries.

Displaying the culture day show, which usually happened in the
universities halls, inside one of the greatest museums in the
world is a very important opportunity to spread Chinese culture,
said Rehab Mahmoud, the Egyptian director of the Confucius
Institute in Cairo University.

“The shows today are watched by tourists from across the world,
as well as the ordinary Egyptians, not just limited to the
Chinese students,” Mahmoud explained.

Wang Enjie, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute in
Cairo University, expressed his gratitude to the Egyptian
National Museum for holding the event.

“By cooperating with the museum and putting up a show like
today’s, we hope more people will know about Chinese culture and
eventually about China,” said Wang.